Think about it ... Heaney is in, Henderson is not

Hockey Hall of Fame snubs

Paul Henderson: Famous for his game-winning goal against the Soviet Union at the Summit Series in 1972, Henderson was inducted into the International Ice Hockey Federation Hall of Fame in May 2013. Apart from the international accolades, he played in the NHL and WHA between 1962 and 1980, scoring 376 goals and 384 assists in 1,067 career games. (Amber Bracken/QMI Agency/Files)

AMBER BRACKEN/EDMONTON SUN/ QMI

Curtis Joseph: His longevity in the NHL helped Joseph reach the all-time top-5 in various statistical categories: fifth in games played (943), fourth in wins (454) and third in saves (24,279) behind the likes of Martin Brodeur and Patrick Roy. (Craig Robertson/QMI Agency/Files)

Paul Kariya: A point-a-game player in the NHL (989 games, 989 points), Kariya played 15 seasons and amassed 402 goals and 587 assists. He reached the Stanley Cup final with the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim in 2003. He won gold with Canada at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, and also won gold at the World Juniors and Worlds in 1993 and 1994 respectively. Kariya was an NHL all-star seven times and took home the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy as most sportsmanlike player in 1996 and 1997. (QMI Agency/Files)

Scott Rovak/Agence QMI

Eric Lindros: Due to a history of concussions, Lindros never lived up to his potential. Playing in parts of 13 NHL seasons, he appeared in 760 games and scored 372 goals and 493 assists. In his prime, Lindros was the most dominant player in the league from the mid-to-late 1990s, winning the Hart Trophy and Lester B. Pearson Award in 1995. He was also on the Canadian Olympic team that won gold in Salt Lake City in 2002. (Martin Chevalier/QMI Agency)

Martin Chevalier / JdeM

Jeremy Roenick: The centre became the third American-born player to score 500 goals in the NHL, following in the footsteps of Joey Mullen and Mike Modano. He played 20 seasons in the NHL and scored 513 goals and 703 assists in 1,363 games. Inducted into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame in 2010, Roenick won Olympic silver in 2002 at Salt Lake City for the Americans to go along with a silver at the 1991 Canada Cup. (QMI Agency/Files)

Geraldine Heaney is in the Hockey Hall of Fame and Paul Henderson is not.

Think about that for a second.

Yes, I get that there are different categories in the Hall, but the fact that Henderson — a hockey legend and a man who enjoyed a fine National Hockey League and junior career, to say nothing of those somewhat memorable goals on the international stage — continues to be snubbed is unfathomable.

To me, the Hall is the Hall. Either you’re in, or you’re not. I don’t care about categories.

A colleague of mine suggested that Henderson isn’t in because he had an “average” NHL career. I guess 236 goals (not to mention 140 in the WHA), is “average”.

But when you look at Henderson’s entire body of work — especially his impact in the Summit Series — surely he deserves a spot.

The fact that women are now being added based on international play proves my point — that it’s the Hockey Hall of Fame, not the NHL Hall of Fame.

Seems to me there is some elitist snobbery and political correctness involved here.

KOVY FALL-OUT

The fall-out from Ilya Kovalchuk retirement still resonates. Herein are the top five reasons Kovalchuk walked away from the New Jersey Devils:

1. Sick and tired of having to drive to Brooklyn to get a decent bowl of Borscht.

2. Alarmed when he asked son to take out the garbage and was told to “fuhgeddaboudit”.

3. Put off when teammates giggle everytime he mentions Pussy Riot.

4. Still bitter that Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer cast an Egyptian to play Dr. Zhivago.

5. The groupies in Novosibirsk are hot. Minsk-hot.

I was kicking around (serious) reasons why a skill-player such as Kovalchuk might walk away from the NHL and one idea popped into my little round head: There’s no room for a skill player like Kovalchuk to do his thing on NHL-size ice.

Hockey maven Stan Fischler sort of suggested the same thing.

I truly believe more skill players will turn their backs on the NHL going forward because they’re sick and tired of playing in a phone booth.

JAYS ACE-LESS?

Who would have thought we’d be asking this question at roughly the halfway point of the MLB season: Who exactly is the Jays’ ace?

I guess Mark Buehrle would be (5-5 4.50 ERA, not including his start on Friday night). R.A. Dickey? 8-10. 4.69. No.

The bottom line is, at this point, the Jays don’t have an ace — despite all the money Alex Anthopoulos spent during the off-season. Talking to a colleague at the Argos game on Thursday, we agreed that there are some Jays who don’t seem to have that insatiable desire to win. The team is below .500 and fans are upset and disappointed, but guys are still dancing and clowning in the dugout.

There also seems to be a growing impression that some of the guys acquired in the off-season can’t wait to get out of town.

WHILE I'M AT IT

-- The atmosphere at the Roughriders-Argonauts game on Thursday game reminded me of when the Jays play in places like Cleveland. The most boisterous fans are visiting fans. So, good for Rider Nation. But it’s still kind of sad for the Argos.

-- According to media reports, the top London Olympics official in rhythmic gymnastics has been expelled after they found “irregularities” in judges’ examinations. My only response is: There is actually media covering rhythmic gymnastics?

-- Members of the Belize men’s national team were approached to throw CONCACAF Gold Cup game. Apparently the crooks considered approaching the Canadian team to throw a game but realized that the idea was completely redundant. Not funny? Have you seen this team play?

WEENIE OF THE WEEK

ME: Because I’m too dumb to understand the Sharknado phenomenon. Colleagues are tweeting about it left, right and centre, but I just don’t get it.

Hockey Hall of Fame snobbery?

Think about it ... Heaney is in, Henderson is not

Geraldine Heaney is in the Hockey Hall of Fame and Paul Henderson is not.

Think about that for a second.

Yes, I get that there are different categories in the Hall, but the fact that Henderson — a hockey legend and a man who enjoyed a fine National Hockey League and junior career, to say nothing of those somewhat memorable goals on the international stage — continues to be snubbed is unfathomable.

To me, the Hall is the Hall. Either you’re in, or you’re not. I don’t care about categories.

A colleague of mine suggested that Henderson isn’t in because he had an “average” NHL career. I guess 236 goals (not to mention 140 in the WHA), is “average”.

But when you look at Henderson’s entire body of work — especially his impact in the Summit Series — surely he deserves a spot.

The fact that women are now being added based on international play proves my point — that it’s the Hockey Hall of Fame, not the NHL Hall of Fame.